Another Perfect Plant: Edgeworthia chrysantha

Edgeworthia chrysantha (Paperbush) is a stunning late winter flowering shrub with a truly outstanding architectural branching structure. When siting, leave enough room for Edgeworthia to reach its full potential – pruning can ruin the natural form. The fragrant, yellow flowers begin blooming in late winter and can continue until early spring, hanging down from the bare branches. This is a show stopping plant in full sun and can be better appreciated with a darker backdrop to highlight the form.

Commercially cultivated in Japan for paper production since the 1600’s, the bark can be boiled down, pulled apart, and turned into handmade paper called Washi, or twisted into yarn called Kinshi Ginshi yoshi. Historically the Japanese government used Edgeworthia fiber to produce their currency, creating a hard to forge, durable paper money. This has fallen out of favor in recent years due to cheaper alternatives.